PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — North 52nd Street in West Philadelphia has been restored to a vibrant commercial corridor thanks to a community-led effort to rid the area of drug dealers. City officials celebrated the transformation on Thursday.
Officials spoke in front of a vacant lot, now free of the dealers who once hung out there day and night. What changed? A fence. That’s the kind of incremental step that City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier said made all the difference.
“Neighbors began feeling unsafe dining, shopping or traveling here. Shootings were skyrocketing, and when we traced the root cause of all this violence, we kept finding ourselves here at 52nd and Arch,” she said. “It is almost magical how powerful basic municipal services can be when they are deployed quickly, comprehensively and in concert with one another.”
It started with neighbors patrolling the block, talking to the dealers, and reporting problems. The city brightened the area with new lighting, SEPTA installed cameras on the El piers, L&I secured vacant buildings, and the lot owner put up the fence.
“The drug dealers felt the pressure of this combined effort,” Gauthier said. “For the first time in years, they understood that they were being watched and that they would be held accountable for the harm they were inflicting on this community.”
The strategy, honed by the Philadelphia Community Outreach Committee, has come to be known as the Belmont safety model. This is the fourth block the group has cleaned up.
Co-founder Pete Wilson said it takes everyone working together.
“We have to come into the community and let them know we’re not here to lock you up. We’re here to wake you up,” he said. “You’re killing your people, you’re destroying you’re community — put the guns down. Be part of something good.”
State Sen. Vincent Hughes praised their work.
“Thank you for sending a message that we can win,” he said, “and we will win if we keep doing this and make sure we listen to what the community needs.”